Monday, March 02, 2015

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Speaker John A. Boehner’s unilateral invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to address Congress on Tuesday has turned a foreign policy issue that has had near unanimous support in both parties — Israel — into a bruising political showdown. And nowhere has that transformation been more wrenching than among Jewish members of Congress — all but one of them Democratic — who seem to reflect the dismay of the nation’s larger Jewish community over the House speaker’s action.'I went out to play golf — I never play golf — with three of my Jewish buddies,' recalled Representative Alan Lowenthal, a Jewish Democrat from Southern California who only this weekend decided he will attend Mr. Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress. 'One said, ‘You must go,’ one said, ‘You definitely should not go,’ and one said, ‘I’m in the middle.’ That literally reflects the American Jewish community.' Through foreign policy trials as difficult as the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli settlement policies, Arab terrorism, and the repeated failures of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Jews in Congress — and to a large extent, Jews in the United States — have spoken in a near-monolithic voice, always in support of the government of Israel. But the Boehner-Netanyahu alliance has done something that larger foreign policy crises have not: It has led to the open distinction between support for the State of Israel and allegiance to politicians who lead it. 'It’s a tipping-point moment,' said Rabbi John Rosove, an outspoken liberal and head of Temple Israel of Hollywood. 'It’s no longer the Israeli government, right or wrong. The highest form of patriotism and loyalty is to criticize from a place of love.' Representative John Yarmuth, a Jewish Democrat from Kentucky, foresees the prime minister castigating the foreign policy of President Obama, playing to a raucous, supportive audience that he will not be part of." (NYT)

James Dolan

"MSG and Cablevision boss James Dolan wants to buy the New York Daily News and has a team of bankers exploring the possibility, Page Six has exclusively learned. A source tells us Dolan’s interest in the tabloid is a natural extension of Cablevision’s current ownership of Newsday. But Dolan and MSG have been locked in a 10-year feud with the News, which could put some of the paper’s editorial staff in a precarious position if he becomes the buyer.The feud between Dolan and the News dates back to ’05, when the paper backed a plan by former mayor Mike Bloomberg to build the West Side Stadium. Cablevision, with Dolan as CEO, opposed the move, as the new sports venue would have competed directly with MSG. The paper’s relationship with Dolan further soured, and in 2012, Dolan issued a statement saying the paper smeared him after he refused an approach from owner Mort Zuckerman to merge Newsday’s printing presses and other operations with theirs. The release reads, 'Mr. Zuckerman has engaged in a campaign of intimidation and extortion to effect a merger between Newsday and the Daily News . . . This proposal was rejected multiple times.' It adds, 'At a Four Seasons lunch meeting on March 6, Mr. Zuckerman once again made his proposal, this time adding that ‘the bad press would end if we became joint owners’ (a direct quote).' Shortly thereafter, the Daily News ran a full front page with Mr. Dolan’s picture as the centerpiece for a skull-and-crossbones graphic that included the word 'toxic' in bold print." (P6)

Araud welcomes guests in the main hall.

"If there were a French ambassador in 'Mad Men,' Gerard Araud could easily play the part, leading his own rat pack, giving Don Draper and Roger Sterling serious competition. Watch him at a party and you’ll agree: when measured on Washington’s diplomatic landscape, he qualifies as the city’s hipster ambassador. And that’s a compliment, if you need to be told. He exudes natural cool, fueled by intellect, and style. Araud’s snappy exuberance was put to good use on Friday evening as he reopened his country’s official Washington residence after a two-year renovation. We got an early first look. While the structural architecture remains essentially the same – the renovation work was focused behind-the-scenes on troubles prompted by leaks, mold and asbestos – the décor, like the ambassador, represents a country that is both passionately old world and ultra contemporary. In the moments before the reopening party began, Araud strolled through every public room of the mansion, making sure the details were just right. Servers in black-tie, some who hadn’t worked together since the closure, shook hands with each other or embraced, having their own reunion. They like being back in the old place, its fresh look, they said, and especially the fresh style of the 'new guy.' Amid appropriate hustle and bustle, the Champagne flutes were in place, silver trays were filled with neat rows of mini croque monsieur aux champignons, and canapés with foie gras and caviar. When the hands on the clock hit 6:30 it was showtime and everyone hit their marks, eager to launch a new era of entertaining at 4101 Kalorama Road." (NYSD)